Literaturhauscafé

We cordially invite you to watch our events via stream. These ten dates are included in the September subscription:Sep 1st, German Book Prize 2026 – Longlist EveningSep 3rd, Eva MenasseSep 8th, Maggie O'FarrellSep 10th, Discussion Needs – On the Situation in East GermanySep 15th, Mandy Mangler and Esther KogelboomSep 16th, Philosophical Café – Martin SchererSep 22nd, Radka DenemarkováSep 23rd.., Shida BazyarSep 29th, Jaroslav RudišSep 30th, Harbour Front – Elias HirschlYou can access the streams concurrently with the live event or directly afterwards within 72 hours.

Nominees present their novels DEUTSCHER BUCHPREIS 2026 – GRAND LONGLIST EVENINGNominees present their novelsOn August 11, the German-language book industry gathers in front of their screens as if for the best broadcast times of "Wetten, dass..?" or the premiere of a new season of "Game of Thrones". Because then the longlist for the Deutscher Buchpreis will be published.This year, 106 publishers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland submitted a total of 180 novels. The jury, consisting of Theresa Donner, Jan Ehlert, Maha El Hissy, Cornelia Geißler, Emily Grunert, Stefanie Kreuzer, and Adam Soboczynski, will decide who receives the Deutscher Buchpreis 2026. The "Novel of the Year" will be awarded at the beginning of the Frankfurter Buchmesse on October 5. In 2024, Martina Hefter received the coveted award for "Hey guten Morgen, wie geht es dir?", and in 2025, Dorothee Elmigerfor "Die Holländerinnen".Before the award is presented, you can get your own impression and submit your predictions. We are hosting a variety of nominees who will read excerpts from their texts and engage in conversation with the moderation team. The questions will be posed by NDR journalist Julia Westlake, Frank Menden, bookseller at stories!, Konstantin Ulmer, responsible for press relations and events at the State and University Library Hamburg, and Literaturhaus director Antje Flemming.In cooperation with the Foundation for Book Culture and Reading Promotion of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, with the kind support of the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, as well as the Petra and K.-H. Zillmer Foundation for Art and Literature under the umbrella of the Hamburg Cultural Foundation

reads from her new novel »Alleinruhelage«EVA MENASSEreads from her new novel »Alleinruhelage«Owning a holiday home was something her parents had always dreamed of. The narrator has achieved this, even if it's a dilapidated guesthouse from GDR times. At least it's in the titular »Alleinruhelage« (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) by a forest lake. The sociable neighbor was formerly a member of the SED, heads the local allotment garden association, and mourns better times. The other residents mostly keep to themselves, suspicious of anything new, especially of newcomers.Following her novels »Quasikristalle« and »Dunkelblum«, Eva Menasse once again skillfully combines personal memory and historical events. The author, born in Vienna in 1970, casts a look at German-German history with detached curiosity. She tells of the ups and downs of a woman's life. The house witnesses the children growing up and the good phases of the marriage. But it also bears witness to the sell-off of the once idyllic allotment garden settlement for SED officials and the decay of the GDR in miniature. After the narrator's marriage has failed, new times dawn for her and also for the house.Moderation: Shirin SojitrawallaWith the kind support of the Ilse and Dr. Horst Rusch Foundation

presents his book »John of John« as part of the Long Night of LiteratureDOUGLAS STUARTpresents his book »John of John« as part of the Long Night of LiteratureThe people here are as rough as the landscape: life is hard on the Outer Hebrides, nature is barren, and there is little room for being different. That's why John-Calum Macleod, known as Cal, left his father John's farm behind to study in Edinburgh. Now he's back, broken, poor, with a trash bag full of elegant clothes he sewed himself. His father summoned him back to help him with tweed weaving. Because that's what the men here have been doing for centuries: weaving and praying. But father and son, as much strangers to each other as they resemble each other, remain silent.Scottish author Douglas Stuart worked as a fashion designer in New York before he started writing. His debut »Shuggie Bain« was a global bestseller and was honored with the Booker Prize in 2020. »John of John« was translated by Sophie Zeitz.German reading: Charly HübnerModeration: Julia WestlakeIn cooperation with the Buchhandlung im Literaturhaus

presents her new novel ‘Land’MAGGIE O’FARRELLpresents her new novel ‘Land’Anyone who loves films couldn’t escape the allure of ‘Hamnet’ earlier this year, the brilliant, multi-Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel starring Jessie Buckley as Agnes Hathaway. Now the Irish-British author follows up with her tenth novel: ‘Land’ (Piper; Translation: Nikolaus Hansen and Kathrin Razum) is set in 1865 and takes us to Ireland. O’Farrell tells of Tomás and his young son Liam, who are to map the land on behalf of the Ordnance Survey, the land surveying authority, which is still marked by ‘The Great Famine’. Between 1845 and 1849, it claimed the lives of one million people, twelve percent of the Irish population. After a mystical encounter in a patch of forest, the formerly taciturn Tomás talks like a waterfall and believes he can bear witness to the catastrophe and protect his homeland with his maps: ‘You will never understand how the land remembers, how deep the roots run.’Maggie O’Farrell’s novel is a major work, her language allusive, poetic, exuberant. In a sweeping narrative, she connects the challenging fate of Ireland and its people with nature, which is on the one hand barren, on the other of the highest fascination: ‘A great book about a small country,’ judges ‘Der Spiegel’.Moderation (English-German): Tobias RütherGerman Reading: Julia WieningerWith the kind support of the Hamburg Authority for Culture and Media